Community medicine - an analysis of student clerkship in the department of social & preventative medicine, U.W.I. over a five-year period 1967-1972 - abstract

ABSTRACT

Medical students at the University of the West Indies are assigned to a five-week clerkship in the Department of Social and preventative Medicine during their second clinical year. One-tenth of the classes rotated every five weeks over a 50-week period each year, and approximately 400 students have had their first experience of an organized course in Community Medicine from April, 1967, to March, 1972. During the period under review, the students received training and experience through participation in the Community Health Services programme of this Department in the neighbouring Hermitage/August Town communities, the City Health Department of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, Social Welfare Agencies, various institutions in the Corporate Area (Kingston and St. Andrew). In the third and fourth weeks of the clerkship, students are attached to the Medical Officer of Health and his team in the rural parishes of Jamaica - the aim being to give them an opportunity to appreciate, participate in, and study various aspects of the whole spectrum of health care. A very important part of the programme is the continuous evaluation and assessment by staff, students, field preceptors and their staff through questionnaires, project reports, personal contacts, etc. Comments and suggestions by teachers and students of various stages have resulted in modifications and innovations of the clerkship programme. Many students have indicated that they now see their role as physicians concerned with community health as well as the care of individual patients. A reasonable proportion of final year students have done electives under auspices of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. There has also been an increase in the number of young graduates applying for post as Medical Officer in the Health Service section of the Department where they gain valuable experience in Community Medicine. There is a growing awareness and appreciation by the students of dedicated services by members of the health team, as exemplified particularly during the rural experience. The clerkship has apparently also created an awareness of the various health problems and a greater interest among students in becoming involved in seeking solutions to health problems, also in operational research and the delivery of health care in communities with inadequate health services (AU)